


Ascension

by borogoves



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Gen, Mild Blood, Mild Body Horror (only in a few chapters; wing-related), Noctis-centric, Wingfic, Wings, adheres to the game timeline, gen but prompto is lowkey crushin on his friends, rated T for blood/body horror, this probably isn’t a wingfic in the traditional sense (??) but nOCTIS DOES GROW WINGS
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-27
Updated: 2020-03-12
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:08:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22916734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/borogoves/pseuds/borogoves
Summary: The bathroom was still steamy from the shower, but the center of the mirror had cleared enough for Noctis to take a good look at himself. The tired lines under his eyes seemed deeper if possible, his tan lines werebad, and his hair stuck up funny on one side from sleeping on it. None of that really seemed to matter now that he had feathers sprouting all over his back.-Or: After mysterious circumstances cause Noctis to grow wings, he and his retinue must learn how to cope with them on their journey. Noctis seeks a cure, butsomethinghas a hold on him he can't quite shake- and it doesn't seem to be finished with him yet.
Relationships: Gladiolus Amicitia & Prompto Argentum & Noctis Lucis Caelum & Ignis Scientia
Comments: 76
Kudos: 157





	1. Birthright

**Author's Note:**

> HELLO this fic is all just an elaborate excuse to write about noctis with wings.
> 
> The first three chapters will be posted over the next three days, and then there will be more time between future updates.
> 
> I have a rough outline of the plot and miscellaneous chapters written (including parts of the ending), so I’m hoping to be able to continue posting updates and eventually bring this fic to a close over the coming months. This is my first time writing a chaptered fic, so thank you for being patient with me :,))
> 
> I hope you enjoy it!!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Chapter warnings:** N/A

“Finally.”

“Sun’s a sight for sore eyes.”

“Oh gross, we were in there all night,” Prompto complained, squinting as they stepped beyond the rushing water that hid the mouth of the cave and into the morning light. “Sorry Noct, your ancestors were wack. Which one wanted to be buried _there?_ ”

Noctis yawned, “Beats me.” The knowledge was filed away somewhere, but he was too busy daydreaming about the soft beds waiting for them at the Leville and how well he was going to sleep after all this. He wouldn’t even complain about the miserable heat in the city, not after the cold they had to endure spelunking the depths of the daemon-infested cave. "Cool swords, though."

"That would be 'The Wanderer'; he was noted as an explorer of the unknown, so perhaps a tomb tucked deep within a secret grotto was a fitting tribute."

Prompto gawked at Ignis. "Seriously? Next you're gonna tell me some king was known for swimming in lava and we're going to have to take a dip in Ravatogh-"

"Hope you brought your water wings," Gladio elbowed him, and Prompto let out an impressive groan.

“At least the rumors were true and we found what we came for,” Ignis remarked, taking off his glasses to wipe the lenses clean of mist from the falls. “Talcott will be pleased to hear.”

That got Prompto beaming again. "Oh yeah! I can't wait to tell him how we bashed in those creepy tentacle daemons," he swung an imaginary but triumphant blade for emphasis, before hopping down the rocks along the river's edge, "and also how many times Noct totally wiped out in there."

“Hey!”

"Didn’t you get some photos?" Gladio asked as he made his own way down. Prompto's eyes lit up.

"Nearly forgot!" His camera was out only seconds after his feet hit solid ground, and he fumbled with the controls like his life depended on it. The sudden burst of laughter that followed told Noctis he found exactly what he was looking for.

"Ohhh my gods." He thrust the camera in front of Gladio, who returned a hearty laugh of his own.

"Hah! Only your best angles Noct, don't worry."

Noctis rolled his eyes as obviously as he could manage, though that didn’t stop the smile tugging at his lips. Ice skating wasn't exactly his forte. “Alright, let’s see the damage.”

“If you delete them, I’m ending our friendship,” Prompto warned in his fake serious voice that he always insisted was real, before handing the camera over. “That one’s my favorite.”

Noctis glanced down at the photo in question.

The fact that any of the photos turned out with the objectively poor lighting was impressive enough, but this one took the cake. He was laid out flat on his back, staring up at the cave ceiling in resignation, sword five feet away sliding across the icy floor. All in perfect exposure. Gladio was pointing and laughing at him in the background, and he was positive Ignis was stifling a chuckle just out of frame. The imps that ambushed them moments later probably had a good laugh at his expense, too.

He wiped the sweat from his brow with his free arm. As embarrassing as it was, he wouldn't mind laying on that cold ice now- his shirt was sticking to his back under his jacket.

“Yeah, that’s a keeper,” he smirked, finally returning the camera to Prompto. No sooner than it left his hand, a searing pain shot between his eyes and took his sight with it. "Augh-"

"Whoa, you okay?" Prompto asked and leaned closer. Noctis was only vaguely aware of his presence as he blinked flashes of strange imagery away, trying to focus on the roar of the very real waterfall behind them and the give of earth beneath his boots.

"I'll be fine," he murmured, his senses eventually returning to him. Now he just had to wait out the pain. He experienced enough of the sudden headaches and “visions” at this point to know how long they'd last, though that knowledge brought him little comfort. He grit his teeth.

"They're becoming more frequent," Ignis said with a small frown, passing him a bottle from the armiger. "Do you need something for the pain?"

Noctis shook his head and accepted the water, taking a gulp. "Just need a minute."

Sure enough, the pressure behind his eyes began to ease up and settle into something tolerable. The roasting sun and the sweat trickling down his back weren't as considerate.

"Hot out here," he muttered, dismissing the bottle before shrugging off his jacket and any promises he made not to complain about the temperature.

"It’s not that bad- kinda nice after being stuck in an underground freezer that wants to kill you," Prompto said. "Feeling better?"

Noctis rolled his shoulders, trying to ignore a twinge in his back and the damp fabric still clinging there. “Meh. I'll live."

"You better, otherwise I'm out of a job." Gladio clapped him on the shoulder, missing the wince that followed. “We can make Lestallum before lunch if we get a move on. You good to go?”

“Y-yeah." He rubbed at his neck, trying to shake the feeling that Gladio’s friendly slap dislodged one of his vertebrae.

Ignis fixed him with a familiar look, one he knew was poring over every inch of him searching for something amiss. “Are you certain?”

“Yeah, let’s go,” Noctis insisted, abruptly dropping his hands to his sides and forging on ahead. “Sooner we get there, sooner I can catch a nap.”

It was just exhaustion creeping up on him, he was sure; they had taken a few hours rest at the tomb upon finding it, but they were all close to reaching their limit.

He took the liberty of falling back and letting Gladio lead after they snuck past the giant midgardsormr (which was by some miracle, asleep- Noctis had never been so jealous of a snake). The car wasn’t _that_ far now, he just had to make it there, then he could pass out for at least the next three hours. Prompto must have noticed him lagging, because he slowed his pace until they were walking side by side. Noctis could practically feel the question on Prompto's mind before he got a chance to utter it out loud.

“I’m fine. I’m just-” Noctis cut off as something in his back felt like it _moved_ , “...tired.” 

“...yeah, same here. Long night.” Prompto didn’t look entirely convinced, but he didn't attempt to pry any further.

Noctis swallowed and kept walking. His back had been on-and-off sore the last several days, but it wasn’t enough to warrant getting Ignis on his case and he was positive it was from camping in the rain for two days straight the week prior. The bizarre phantom sensation was easily explained away by that and the lack of sleep. Another couple nights in a real bed, some proper stretching, he'd be good as new. 

That’s what he kept telling himself at least, as they trekked away from the falls in amiable silence. It worked for a bit, until the will to move his legs slowly grinded to a halt. The strange prickling in his back had elevated itself to a ‘you-can’t-ignore-this’ level, and what started as mild discomfort was quickly turning into outright pain.

“Dude, I think you need a break,” Prompto said, with enough volume and concern to catch the attention of the others, who promptly turned around to assess the situation.

“...yeah,” Noctis admitted through clenched teeth. He had never experienced the feeling of a hundred tiny knives twisting into his flesh before, but he wagered he had a pretty good idea of it now. Sweat continued to bead on his forehead, but even moving his arms to wipe at his face felt like it would tear the muscles there in two. So he stood locked in place and stared helplessly as his friends approached.

"Noct, what's wrong? Is it the headache?" Ignis approached, eyebrows knit together.

"Think it's my back," Noctis strained to say, finally managing to stumble forward only for his advisor to catch and steady him.

Ignis's expression became more severe than it already was. “You may have overexerted yourself sliding down the cave passages. Are you able to hold out until we reach the car?”

Noctis nodded slowly, though every nerve in his body was screaming for him to say “no”. Gladio must have picked up on it, because the next thing he knew he was being scooped up from where he stood and cradled securely against his Shield’s chest. 

“Don’t worry, I gotcha.”

Noctis was used to having the occasional flare-up from his back, a lasting reminder of a childhood injury. He knew how that pain usually manifested- as much as he wanted to believe so earlier, this was _not_ it. He didn’t have the capacity to overthink it though as he latched onto Gladio and dug his nails into the leather of his jacket.

“That bad, huh? Alright, let’s get moving,” Gladio said, keeping his voice quiet.

“...would a potion help?” Prompto piped up, trailing behind Gladio as they hurried up the cliffside path to where the car was parked. Noctis peered at him from over Gladio’s shoulder. His vision blurred, but he could still make out the tuft of blond hair bobbing along. He hated Prompto seeing him like this especially, but there wasn't much he could do outside of trying not to wince at every bump.

Ignis answered, “This isn’t the sort of injury a potion can help- ...though, it might bring some minor relief until we can get him somewhere. By some luck we’re well-stocked, so go ahead, Prompto.”

Prompto had already summoned one to his hand and rushed over to Gladio’s side, lifting it up for Noctis to drink.

“Thanks,” Noctis managed to get out, his voice cracking. Half the liquid dribbled down his chin, but it would work all the same anyway. He waited while his head grew foggy, but the soothing chill of magical healing never came.

The potion must have had some effect though, because everything was a blur until he was suddenly being eased into the back of a car and laid across the seat, head propped up on Gladio’s thigh. Apparently they had made it to the Regalia. His back twinged again, and he curled in on himself.

“Hang in there.” A gentle hand carded through his hair and he felt himself starting to drift. Being unconscious at this point would be a blessing, really.

“There’s a motel further up the road- it would be well worth it to get him a hot shower and a proper bed. I think we could all use it after the evening we’ve had,” Ignis concluded, already pulling off the shoulder and hitting the gas. “See if you can get him to take some painkillers.”

Noctis felt a bottle press to his lips and heard Gladio’s low rumblings, but couldn’t focus on any of his words at this point. He swallowed whatever was being offered to him and closed his eyes, tuning out the voices and the sounds of the car surrounding him.

As he lay, Noctis became aware that something else was off. Wrong. Something beyond the unbearable twisting in his back and the exhaustion gnawing at the edges of his consciousness. 

He was intimately familiar with the magic he shared with the Crystal and the star itself- it was just as natural to him as breathing, a constant in his life since he was young. But now, that same magic felt heavy, almost tangible, filling his lungs and throat and clinging to his skin. How long had it been swelling up around him without his notice? Days? ...weeks?

Amidst the pain and haze, he idly wondered if this was what drowning felt like.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See you tomorrow for the next chapter!
> 
> I'd like to give a shout out to all my friends who cheered me on and motivated me during the writing process!! And special thanks to Beau for proofreading chapters 1-3 for me :) and Kat for helping me with ao3 as always WHWHWHh


	2. Coalesce

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Chapter warnings:** Descriptions of body horror (wing-related), blood

The outpost was closer than backtracking to Lestallum, but they still had nearly an hour’s drive ahead of them even with Ignis pushing the speed limit. Prompto peeked over his seat at Noctis, half curled over Gladio’s lap looking absolutely pitiful. His eyes were tightly drawn and he was wearing a grimace that hadn’t left his face since the car started moving.

“Has it ever been this bad?” Prompto asked. He knew Noctis had back trouble, but Noct didn’t make a point to mention it often and Prompto didn’t make a point to ask his best friend potentially uncomfortable questions. 

“He’s had residual pain before, but he’s usually better at concealing it- that’s a problem in itself, but makes this all the more concerning,” Ignis answered from his left, glancing up to the rearview mirror. “The sooner we can get him cleaned up and comfortable, the better.”

“Your friend okay?” the employee at the motel desk asked, peering over Ignis’s shoulder to the slumped figure currently occupying Gladio’s arms.

“Overdid it on a hunt; he just needs a good rest," Gladio answered, and Ignis gave a nod.

“Seems like you hunters come back injured more often than not. I’ll waive the early check-in for helping take care of the varmints.” He looked them up and down again and added, “Do mind there's additional cleaning fees if you go trackin' blood and dirt all over, though."

"We'll keep it clean!" Prompto piped up, looking forward to a long overdue shower once Noctis was feeling better.

“That’s what I like to hear. Room’s in the back hall; should be quiet for you this time of day.”

Ignis retrieved the keys from the man and they quickly made their way. Noctis began to stir, wearily surveying their surroundings from his perch.

"Any better?" Gladio asked.

Noctis leaned back into his Shield and sighed. "Not really.”

“Aw man… we got a room, though,” Prompto said, walking in front of Gladio so Noctis didn’t have to turn his head, “ _and_ I’ll even let you have all the pillows.”

Noctis exhaled through his nose with a small huff. “So thoughtful.”

“I know, right?” 

They found their room at the end of a long, mostly empty hall as promised, and Ignis unlocked the door and ushered them inside. The space was nothing special: standard two beds, a small table and chair, sun-faded floral prints adorning the walls. Thankfully a little cleaner than the last roadside motel they had stayed at, though the bar wasn’t very high.

Prompto stood out of the way as Ignis stripped the comforter back on one of the beds and Gladio set Noctis down as gently as could be managed, before kneeling to untie his boots. Noctis gripped the edge of the mattress, anguish etched into his features.

“There you go- yeesh, your feet stink.”

“Not as bad as yours,” Noctis retorted through a wheeze, one corner of his frown turning up just slightly.

“I’m sure we all smell quite lovely,” Ignis said with a roll of his eyes as Gladio got back to his feet. Prompto caught Ignis's brief but fond smile though, and grinned to himself. At least Noctis could still manage to rag on Gladio, that had to count for something.

Ignis continued on, "Noct, are you able to remove your shirt so we can take a look?"

Noctis didn’t answer for a moment, then tried to lift his arms with a grimace.

“Don’t strain yourself, I can help.” Ignis carefully lifted the edge of the sweat-soaked t-shirt, only to be met with a yelp from the prince.

"Noct?"

"S-sorry," he stammered. "Try again."

Prompto had never seen him like this before- sure, Noctis had suffered injuries in battle, they all had at some point, but it was never _this_ bad. Gladio had already given him another potion on the way to the motel, but it didn’t seem to ward off whatever he was currently suffering. And it seemed like it was just getting worse. 

“I don’t understand, he was fine right after we got out of the cave… ’side from the headache, but,” Gladio said quietly as Ignis tried to peel Noctis’s shirt off again. “It’s not usually like… _this_.”

"I'm aware," Noctis grunted, his face twisting as Ignis gently raised his arms to pull the shirt up and off again.

Ignis had more success this time, discarding the thoroughly damp shirt on the ground. “Alright, let’s see what we can do. Up you go.” 

With help from Ignis, Noctis slowly pulled his legs up onto the bed, and turned so his back was facing them.

The room fell quiet outside of Noctis’s labored breathing. “What’s wrong?” he asked, voice strained. Ignis hovered over him.

“It… would appear something... unusual has happened with your back,” Ignis replied in a carefully even tone. His eyes betrayed deeper concern. “I’m going to administer a remedy, hold still for just a moment.”

“Not like I'm going anywhere,” Noctis muttered, grabbing a pillow and burying his face in it.

As Ignis readied the curative, Prompto couldn’t tear his eyes from Noctis’s back. There were the scars from his childhood, which had been jarring the first time Prompto saw them, but that wasn’t what held his attention now. On his upper back, a pair of raised lumps stood prominent, sloping gently down toward his spine. His skin was pulled tight and raw over them, and it might have been a trick of the eye or Prompto's own imagination, but they almost seemed to pulse.

“What is _that?_ ” Gladio asked, echoing Prompto’s own thoughts. “Some kinda rash? Giant bug bite? Potion should’ve taken care of it.”

Noctis craned his neck to peer over his shoulder, but immediately flinched at the movement. One of the lumps shifted in response, bulging outward before settling again.

“D-did you guys just see...” Prompto stammered, his heart rate spiking while he tried to push thoughts of alien parasites far, _far_ away. That was just in movies… probably.

Muffled by the pillow, Noctis asked, “See what?”

“Unfortunately, yes.” Ignis hesitated a moment, before pouring the glorified can of soda directly over the prince’s back.

Noctis visibly tensed as the magic flowed over then settled into his skin. “Well?”

“ _Well._ It was worth a shot,” Gladio answered for them, as they all stared down at the unchanged lumps. If anything, it seemed like they had gotten larger, the pulsing more distinct.

Ignis pushed his glasses up. “Noct… did you notice these… growths on your back prior to today?”

The silence that followed was answer enough.

“ _Noctis_.”

“...sort of? A few days ago,” he grunted. “I kind of forgot about it.”

“How do you forget about _that_ ,” Gladio reproached, and Prompto couldn’t help but agree.

Noctis winced, but whether it was out of pain or from the scrutiny was unclear. “It hardly looked like anything before. Like... I don’t know, I thought it was sunburn or something. It wasn’t anything like _this_ ,” he hissed the last word, shoving his face into the pillow again. With a trembling voice, he added, “It feels like something’s crawling under my skin.”

Ignis’s frown only grew at that, and he cautiously felt along the side of one of the lumps. Noctis whimpered and he removed his hand quickly, mouth settling into a grim line. 

“That's… ah... hm… we may have to seek out a medical profe-”

Ignis didn't get to finish as Noctis cried out, doubling over again and grasping the pillow tighter.

Ignis moved to hold his shoulder, and Noctis glanced up to him, his eyes glassy and out of focus. “Are you in stasis?”

Noctis just barely shook his head, taking a few slow and deliberate breaths. “I think... it’s… the opposite.”

The other three shared a nervous glance.

“...too much magic?” Gladio ventured a guess.

Noctis murmured something that might have been an “uh-huh” in response, before scrunching up his face. When his eyes reopened, they were a startling magenta Prompto had never seen on a human before. Not only that, they were _glowing_. The prince’s mouth curved into a snarl, teeth clenched tight and menacing- for the moment, he looked positively feral. Ignis took a step back.

“Noct?” Gladio tried, cautiously approaching the bed and angling himself between Noctis and Ignis. "Easy, we're just trying to help."

Whatever overcame him didn’t last long, and he shook his head, curling his fingers into the sheets. “I know,” he squeaked out, “sorry.”

“Wh-what do we do?” Prompto asked quietly, feeling more helpless now than he had felt for most of the trip. This was way beyond his Crownsguard crash course, and he had a sinking feeling it was beyond any formal training, too. "Should we call Cor?"

“I’m not sure if-” Ignis started, cutting off as Noctis let out another pained sound.

Prompto looked on in horror, his alien nightmare seemingly realized as the taut skin writhed, like _something_ was trying to escape. He barely registered that Gladio had summoned his greatsword in the middle of the motel room, as if he would even have room to swing it at whatever made its home in Noctis’s back.

The skin over his left shoulder blade pressed up and outwards, once, twice, like some kind of beating organ, three times- Noctis’s skin was stretched so thinly Prompto swore he could see the dark shapes beneath, and it took all he had not to turn away.

Noctis was openly crying at this point, one shoulder shoved into the mattress while he tried to reach around with his opposite arm to claw pitifully at his back. “Get it _out_ ,” he pleaded, voice thick with desperation and under that, fear.

“I… I can make an incision, I’ll sterilize one of the paring knives,” Ignis spoke quickly. It sounded like he was trying to convince himself of the plan as much as Noctis.

Gladio offered him an incredulous stare. “You a surgeon now?” 

“We are running out of options-”

“Uh, guys-”

“I mean, I trust you, but what if-”

“Guys!”

The wet _schlick_ of splitting flesh silenced the room, and all eyes were on Noctis. The… _thing_ lurking beneath his skin had finally broken free, pushing up through the fissure its efforts had created. What emerged was dark and unsettling, coated in a viscous red that made Prompto’s stomach churn more than it already was.

It looked daemonic.

With a slow and trembling pace, the grotesque parasite continued to stretch up from its host. The other growth had begun to swell at this point, forgoing any suspense and suddenly tearing to reveal a mirror of the first.

Noctis’s choked sobs came to an abrupt halt and he fell limp, rivulets of blood running down his sides and pooling on the sheets.

Prompto’s first clear thought amidst the shock was they were absolutely going to be paying the extra cleaning fees. His brain finally caught up and he drew in a gasp, lunging forward to do _something_ for Noct.

Gladio held out an arm to stop him, his other hand tensing on the hilt of his sword. “Wait.”

The new growths twitched and swayed in a disquieting manner, seemingly of their own volition. They didn’t uproot themselves from his skin and slither menacingly across the floor like Prompto imagined they would, though. In fact, as the seconds ticked by, they came to resemble arms more than daemons, only misshapen and too wide. Prompto felt his jaw go slack when he recognized the familiar shape of feathers beginning to fan out.

Oh. 

They were _wings_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter tomorrow :3c


	3. Strange Magic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Chapter warnings:** Mentions of blood

They all stood in silence as Noctis’s breathing became more even, his brow no longer furrowed in pain. He almost looked peaceful, in spite of the alarming amount of blood painting his torso. The pair of wings that inexplicably burst from his back draped over him, gently rising and falling with each steady breath. They were delicate looking things, feathers still matted and slick with blood from their apparent growth beneath his skin.

Ignis moved first, leaning in to take his pulse and inspect his back. His shoulders relaxed just slightly. “It appears the... wounds have already closed. We should get him cleaned up,” he stated in a quiet voice, as if this were all just a normal occurrence.

“Whoa whoa whoa, hang on," Gladio said, finally dismissing his sword now that the apparent danger had subsided. "Are we all going to pretend this isn’t crazy? He just sprouted… wings? That's what we’re looking at here, right?"

"I'm with the big guy on this one, that was insane."

“We’ve all been turned into frogs at the hand of daemons, it’s not out of the question to think this was brought on by their magic as well.”

“I mean, yeah, I’ve been a frog before, but it didn’t involve any of... _this,_ ” Prompto gestured in Noctis’s direction. At the _blood_ and _general suffering_. Being a frog was actually kind of fun, barring the imminent perils of getting stepped on. “And that lasts like, five minutes, tops.”

“Plus the remedy didn’t work,” Gladio pointed out, folding his arms and leaning in to get a closer look at Noctis.

Ignis pinched the bridge of his nose. “I… I don’t have an alternative. Let’s focus on Noct now and consider the causes later. Prompto, could you get the shower running?"

"R-right!" Prompto replied, finally tearing his eyes from Noctis and skittering over to the bathroom door. He glanced back to see Gladio and Ignis working to lift Noctis from the bed, supporting him from either side while his wings splayed awkwardly behind him. 

Between the three of them, they managed to get Noctis undressed the rest of the way and sat up in the tub. Ignis stripped down to his undershirt as well, his usual dress shirt smeared with blood. Gladio handed over his own blood-streaked jacket, and Ignis tucked the lot of dirty clothes away in the armiger to presumably deal with later.

“I’ll take care of the bed,” Gladio murmured, backing out of the small room. Prompto didn’t envy him- he saw the mess on the sheets.

"Hold him steady for me, Prompto," Ignis directed, and Prompto hurriedly reached an arm out to support their friend while Ignis rinsed his back. 'Bathing a prince' was the last thing he expected to put on his mental list of road trip experiences- of course, 'growing wings' was probably nowhere on Noct's, either.

Ignis made quick work of scrubbing and shampooing, eventually assigning Prompto to rinse duty with the handheld showerhead. He managed to avoid accidentally spraying Ignis, against all odds.

“Incredible,” Ignis murmured, gently tugging on one wing to open and close it, before setting to work diligently cleaning the blood and tissue still lingering on the feathers.

Prompto hovered over Ignis’s shoulder as he worked, eyes wide. “How do you even know how to clean them?”

“I don’t,” Ignis replied outright, and Prompto realized he was barely holding his composure together over the situation. That was almost scarier than what happened to Noctis.

He sat quietly while Ignis worked, relinquishing the showerhead to him so he could rinse individual chunks of feathers as he went. A steady trickle of red flowed toward the drain, and Prompto tried not to focus on bits of what he assumed was flesh. He prayed those wouldn’t get stuck on their way out.

The wings were a soft white once Ignis had managed to scrub them clean, a far cry from how they first emerged. Even the ragged skin around them had smoothed itself out as if by magic, as if Noctis were born with wings in the first place. Smaller feathers radiated out from his shoulder blades and were peppered across his back, further helping the transition between human and otherworldly creature seem almost natural.

Ignis took hold of one of the feathers that sprouted near Noctis’s shoulder and gave it a firm tug. The feather pulled free and left a small circle of blood in its place, like picking at a scab.

“They really are part of him,” he muttered, dabbing at the spot with a washcloth. “Come on then, let’s get him dry.”  
  
Prompto helped Ignis dress him again after a thorough toweling, though fitting a shirt over his wings while they kept stretching outwards was out of the question. He hoped Noctis wouldn’t be too embarrassed that they had to undress and bathe him in the first place, though they had spent enough weeks in close quarters to have much shame left anyway.

“If this is going to be… long term, I might be able to alter some of his shirts,” Ignis said, supporting Noctis so Prompto could pull his sweatpants on.

“...you think they might be permanent?” 

“If I’m being honest Prompto, I’m not sure what to think.”

“So uh, didn’t cover your liege turning into a bird in royal advisor school, gotcha.” He waited for the slight quirk of a smile Ignis sometimes treated him to, but the man remained pensive.

"How's he doing?" Gladio poked his head in the bathroom. "Think I gave housekeeping a heart attack, but there’s fresh sheets on the bed."

"Still unconscious, but his breathing and heart rate seem normal, no fever. There aren't even scars where the… wings came through. Whatever magic this is, it's very advanced. Though I can't see what purpose it would serve to its caster..."

"And he said he noticed the spots on his back the other day. Magic's usually pretty quick business."

"Mm… Would you carry him back to bed, Gladio? Mind the feathers."

Gladio grunted his assent and squeezed into the bathroom to gently lift their prince, cradling him and trying to keep his wings from knocking into everything. Prompto trailed after with the motel-provided blow-dryer and a comb in tow, looking around the bed for an outlet.

“He hates going to bed with wet hair,” he explained, waving the comb around. It was the least he could do for his friend, considering Ignis and Gladio had done most of the heavy lifting.

“You’re spoiling him,” Gladio smirked, sitting down on the edge of the bed and propping Noctis up on his lap. “Guess he deserves it after the morning he’s had. Go for it.”

Prompto settled on the bed next to them, setting to work with a deft hand that came from meticulously styling his own hair for the better part of a decade. The few tiny feathers creeping up the back of Noctis's neck ruffled with the warm air of the blow-dryer, and Prompto had to make a concentrated effort not to stare at them. Within a few minutes, Prompto had Noctis's hair dry, combed through, and parted the way he liked it. “All set!”

“Remind me to have you do mine some time, looks relaxing,” Gladio laughed, and Prompto could feel his ears burning as he busied himself wrapping up the cord.

“Sure thing, big guy.”

Gladio laid Noctis down gently on his side, trying not to pin his wings under him. “Huh… weird,” he grunted, running his fingers across some of the new feathers on Noctis’s back. “He’s gonna hate this.”

“Think so?”

“You know how he feels about people gawking at him and treating him different,” Gladio said, moving Noctis’s bangs out of his face before turning to Prompto. “Pretty sure he’s been enjoying the relative anonymity he has out here. That’s a little harder when you’ve got a big pair of wings stuck to you.”

Prompto knew well enough- he had witnessed it first hand when they were in school together. People had a tendency to see the prince first and Noct second, if at all.

“No one else will be seeing them.” Ignis re-entered the main room, adjusting the sleeves on the shirt he changed into. “They’ll either disappear in short time, or we’ll find some way to conceal them. Otherwise, they’re just another target on our backs… quite literally, in Noct’s case.”

Gladio rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. “Yeah, last thing we need is some overzealous hunter mistaking him for a mark or turning him in to the Empire.”

“It would be helpful if we knew exactly what we were dealing with… I suppose it could have been from that run in we had the night before we reached Lestallum.”

“What about that weird pendant he picked up at those ruins over in Duscae?”

“Are you implying it was cursed to make its owner sprout feathers after several weeks?”

“Not really, but weird enchanted stuff _does_ exist. His Majesty’s ring, for one,” Gladio said, folding his arms and sparing a glance over at Noctis.

Ignis straightened his glasses. “Point taken. At the very least, _that_ pendant was nothing more than a trinket- not nearly as old as the ruins. We can check over what else he has in the armiger once he awakens, just to be certain.”

Prompto listened while Ignis and Gladio continued to exchange ideas, then glanced to the nightstand and picked up a copy of the Cosmogony that had been left there for guests. He flipped through it idly, something to do with his hands more than anything, before pausing on one page in particular.

“...you know, he sort of looks like the Messengers,” he commented, and both Gladio and Ignis fell silent. “Like in the drawings.” He held up the illustration in question.

Pictured were several beings, some humanoid, some less so, but they all bore the same white wings. The similarity was uncanny, for a drawing at least.

"I mean, Umbra doesn't have wings, but," Prompto glanced down at a messenger that looked suspiciously like the magic dog, "...maybe we could ask him about it?"

"I can tell you what he's gonna say already: woof," Gladio said, taking a seat on the opposite bed and massaging his temples.

"Like, _I know he's a dog,_ but he definitely knows stuff."

"An interesting coincidence," Ignis finally replied, looking up from the page. "A little far-fetched, and this is only an artist's interpretation… though, the kings of Lucis are invariably connected to the Oracle and thus the Hexatheon. I would like to investigate the more likely scenario of daemonic magic, but I suppose it would do no harm to 'ask Umbra' should the messenger be present and the… _situation_ persists."

Prompto nodded at that, secretly pleased Ignis hadn't denied his suggestion outright. He agreed it was a little out there as far as theories went, but nothing else about this was "normal", so what did they have to lose?

"Getting advice from dogs aside, what's our next move here?" Gladio asked, crossing his arms and glancing to Noctis.

“He’s breathing easy and resting for now, so… I suppose we should do the same. It’s been a long day and it’s barely noon. Prompto, you may have the shower first, if you like.” Ignis turned his attention back to Noctis, crouching by the bedside and taking his pulse for what must have been the twentieth time that hour.

“Yeah I’ll… go do that.”

A single stray feather sat at the edge of the shower, catching Prompto's attention as he pulled the door shut. He plucked it off the floor and brought it up to his face, still awestruck that it came from Noctis. Now clean, the little feather held an iridescent shimmer, like a crystal refracting the bathroom light. It was practically see-through near its edges, only appearing opaque when clumped together with the others. He couldn’t think of a single creature with plumage that matched... then again, these were feathers growing on a human from some sort of mystery magic, so who knew what was possible. 

Could it have happened to any of them? When he was a kid, he always thought having wings would be cool- he wasn't so sure about it now, after seeing what Noct went through. He stripped off his shirt and spared a glance at his own back in the mirror. Nothing but freckles. With a sigh of relief, he got the water running.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope y'all are enjoying so far!! I'm close to finished with the next chapter, so I'm hoping to post it sometime next week! See you then :3c
> 
> And if you haven't seen them already, I also have some doodles from this au on my xv tumblr if you wanna check 'em out! - <https://burbled-xv.tumblr.com/tagged/wing-au>


	4. Revelation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Chapter warnings:** N/A

A vague metallic scent in the air roused Noctis from his sleep- his eyes shot open, half expecting to be laid out on the battlefield covered in blood. There was no commotion to be found though, and he was certainly curled up on a real bed and not one made from dirt. He registered the muted sound of running water and creaking pipes, and tried to blink his vision into focus.

“Hey dude,” came a quiet voice, and he realized Prompto was laying beside him. His friend looked exhausted, but in typical Prompto-fashion, was keeping up a smile for him anyway. “You had us worried there. Feeling okay?”

Noctis rubbed at his eyes. The magic that had been cocooning him was still there, but it wasn’t nearly as suffocating as before. He tried to fill the gaps in his memory of what happened between getting in the car and waking up here, but it was all fuzzy and disconnected. He remembered his back had felt _awful_ , the worst it had in years- they must have found him something potent though, because all that remained was a dull ache.

“Bud?”

“Oh… yeah, I guess. Are we at a motel?”

Prompto didn’t seem to like that answer, frowning for just a moment. “Yeah, you’ve been passed out for a while. You don’t remember coming here?”

“Not really…” Noctis replied, trying to put the pieces together.

“Ah... what's the last thing you remember?”

He scrunched his face up. “Had that headache walking back from the falls… then it felt like someone was using me for target practice. Did I really make Gladio carry me the whole way?”

“Yeah, but man, you needed it. Trust me. Anything after that?”

Noctis got the impression he wasn’t giving Prompto the answer he was looking for, so he tried to dig deeper. He thought he recalled Gladio carrying him ( _again_ ) through a building, possibly the motel, but that was it. Everything else was too hazy to decipher- a tug in his chest brought him out of his head, and he spared a glance down.

“What happened to my shirt?”

“Right. So one, your shirt was nasty. Two, uh…” Prompto pulled himself to a sitting position and fidgeted with his hair, ungelled and half-obscuring his face. “Okay… so like, don’t freak out-”

“Why are you telling me not to freak out?” Noctis replied hurriedly, lifting his head to look at Prompto better. “What happened?”

“I said don’t freak out! ...can you sit up?” 

Noctis grunted, but did as he was asked. He was stiff and it felt like something other than his desire to sleep was trying to pull him back, but he managed to right himself well enough. “Are you going to tell me?”

Prompto drew a deep breath. “I kinda thought you would have noticed, but… look over your shoulder.”

“I don’t get wh-” Noctis froze mid-sentence, staring. He gingerly reached around his torso, and recoiled when his fingers brushed against something other than skin. They were feathers, seamlessly attached to his back- _his back_ , which now stretched out from his body and onto the sheets behind him. The wrongness of it all gripped him tight and he turned away, hoping the _wings_ he saw melded with him would stop existing by the time he looked again.

They didn’t.

There was one explanation- “This is a dream.” He looked to Prompto and repeated, “I’m dreaming.” The clarity of the moment told him he wasn’t, but he was desperate enough to believe it possible.

Prompto grimaced and just shook his head “no”.

Noctis bit his lip, trying to keep his hands from shaking more than they already were without much success. He tried to form a coherent question, something like ‘How did this happen?’ and ‘Why aren’t we doing anything about it?’’, but all he managed to blurt out was, “ _What?_ ”

“So uh, funny story, but you sort of grew wings? I guess you probably figured that part out… Anyway, it was actually _really_ gross, like I’m talking gory horror movie levels of gross, but Ignis and Gladio cleaned up all the blood and… stuff. Ignis is pretty sure it's from some daemon magic. None of us know how long it’s gonna last, but…"

Noctis barely registered anything Prompto was rambling about after “wings”. He brought a trembling hand to his chest, feeling the pull of unfamiliar muscles again. “ _Why?_ ”

“It's crazy, right?! I have no clue how it happened, but Iggy went out to see if the local hunters have heard of anything like this-”

“Remedy,” Noctis interrupted, urgently grasping at the air before one appeared there and he threw it back. The liquid was lukewarm and too sweet, and after a few seconds of waiting, the only thing he got was a sympathetic look from Prompto. 

“Uh… Noct, we already tried that… sorry, man.”

“This can’t be real,” he said, voice edging into hysterical. His wings- _his wings_ \- snapped open, feathers all on end.

Prompto flinched. “Whoa! Did you mean to do that? Can you control them?”

“I don’t know.” Noctis reached back to touch the feathers again. They were soft, especially near where they met his back. He could _feel_ his hand on the wing, just as he would if he touched his own leg. He swallowed, before taking a fistful of feathers and yanking them out. The pain was immediate and he gasped, letting them fall between his fingers and onto the sheets. His hand moved to pull another, just to be sure-

“HEY!” Prompto raised his voice and grabbed Noctis’s wrist. “You’re going to hurt yourself!”

Noctis stopped himself short of tugging his arm away and stared at Prompto in shock; he almost never heard Prompto use his _actual_ serious voice. His wings drooped. They were real and they were part of him, and it sure didn’t feel like they were going to disappear any time soon.

"If I let go, will you cool it?" Prompto asked, softer now but still wary, and Noctis dropped his gaze to the sheets. “Noct?” Prompto tried again, and he forced himself to slowly nod.

Prompto moved to give his hand a tight squeeze before relinquishing his hold. “Um… I’m sorry for yelling,” he added, and Noctis shifted his weight a little, regret swirling in his head but no words to express it. The two sat in silence on the bed.

“Everything okay out here?” Gladio poked his head out of the bathroom, hair still dripping wet and a towel around his shoulders.

“Yeah,” Prompto responded, though he didn’t sound too certain. “Noct’s awake.”

Noctis could feel Gladio's stare locking onto his back, and he tried to fold the wings in and out of view. Easier said than done- he kept moving his arms instead while his wings half-heartedly flopped on the sheets.

“Well, I’ll be,” Gladio murmured, closing the distance between the bathroom and the bedside in just a few strides. “You can move them and everything? Huh… it’s good to see you’re up, though.”

“Kind of wish I wasn’t,” Noctis managed to deadpan.

Gladio’s lips quirked just slightly. “And I kind of figured that’s how you’d feel. Your back still hurt? You were in pretty bad shape earlier.”

Noctis shrugged, ignoring how strange the gesture felt with the sensation of extra weight on his back. “Better than it was.”

“And the wings?”

Noctis considered them for a moment, not bothering to hide his distaste. "They sort of feel like jelly."

“Hmm. Comin’ up on your right.” Gladio reached around Noctis and gently felt along the base of each wing. “Wild. They've got bones in there and everything. You probably have to build up the muscle strength; they seem pretty weak right now.”

Having someone else touch the wings was even more surreal. Noctis stiffened and pulled away. “I’m going to find a way to get rid of them, not… _exercise_ them.”

“I mean, sure, but we don’t know what we’re dealing with here. You’ll wanna keep it in mind in case this ends up lasting longer than we expect- don’t want them to be dead weight in battle. Plus, your balance is gonna be off.”

Noctis stared hard at the floor. He didn’t want to consider he might be leaving this motel room covered in feathers.

“Still with us?”

“No,” he finally responded and jumped off the bed, only to stagger across the floor. The wings didn’t carry a great physical weight, but something inexplicable about them was bearing down on his shoulders all the same.

Gladio caught him with an arm and held him upright.

“Whoa there, you’re gonna make yourself dizzy like that. You lost a lot of blood earlier, and what did I just say about your balance?”

“I want to see them in the mirror,” Noctis huffed, pulling away once his head stopped spinning. He stalked off towards the bathroom, well aware Prompto and Gladio were probably sharing a “look” over his current mood, but his frustration seemed more than reasonable given the circumstances.

The bathroom was still steamy from the shower, but the center of the mirror had cleared enough for Noctis to take a good look at himself. The tired lines under his eyes seemed deeper if possible, his tan lines were _bad_ , and his hair stuck up funny on one side from sleeping on it. None of that really seemed to matter now that he had feathers sprouting all over his back.

The wings gave a useless flutter at his sides, and he became keenly aware that _he_ was doing that at some subconscious level. He planted his feet firmly and held onto the edge of the sink to focus on a single pair of limbs, trying to overcome the mental hurdle of suddenly having new muscles to control. He wasn’t even sure how wings were supposed to move, and trying to work joint by joint was both physically and mentally jarring.

His efforts weren’t in vain, though, and he watched in disbelief as the wings stretched out to nearly their full span. The movement wasn’t clean, and they were shaky holding their position, but it _was_ possible. One brushed the wall of the bathroom, and he startled when the jostled feathers communicated to whatever new nerves he had. Ignoring that the best he could, he took a proper look at the entire length of his wings in the mirror. If he were to hold his hands out at his sides, the longest feathers would reach just beyond his fingertips. 

Except he couldn’t hold his hands out if he wanted to- they were busy gripping the sink so tightly his knuckles turned white, and his knees threatened to buckle underneath him at any moment. He had suffered through plenty of magic mishaps on the road, why did this feel so different? He had been burned, electrocuted, _turned to stone_ , all entirely unpleasant and harrowing but no match for the deep unease he was feeling now. Not even the momentary panic of being turned into a frog compared. 

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Prompto and Gladio lingering at the bathroom door.

“I’m fine,” Noctis gritted out, fighting back exasperated tears. He couldn’t bring himself to turn to his friends.

“It’s okay, I know it’s kind of… a lot.”

"Blondie's right. You should get some more sleep before Ignis gets back."

Sleep wasn’t going to fix _this_. He felt a strange prickling sensation at his back, and realized his feathers had ruffled with his disposition.

Gladio hid a grin behind his hand. “Sorry. I know you’re going through it right now, but you’re puffing up like an angry chocobo.”

Noctis opened his mouth to argue, but one look at his reflection confirmed Gladio’s judgement. It didn’t help that his own favored chocobo from the ranch had white feathers and looked alarmingly similar when she was frustrated.

“Come on Gladio, too soon,” Prompto laughed, fidgeting with his hair again. Noctis clenched his teeth.

"...he's kind of right," he finally grunted, loosening his iron grip on the sink. He wasn’t going to spiral, not right now. He pushed back the feelings of dread and after one last glance, pulled himself away from the mirror. It was fine. It was just a spell. They were always temporary. Sure the remedy didn't work, but they didn't actually _know_ if that was a cure-all. There were more important things for him to be worried about than a few feathers.

"Oh?" Prompto brightened up at that, and elbowed Gladio. "Guess that makes him a _noctobo."_

Gladio’s smile only grew. “Oh, that’s a good one.”

“Don’t push your luck,” Noctis snorted, and tried to fold in his wings. They got halfway there- enough to fit through the door, at least.

“Looks like you’re getting the hang of it… sort of,” Prompto said, and stepped aside so Noctis could maneuver himself and his wings out of the bathroom.

“Hopefully, I won’t have to get the hang of it because they’ll be _gone_ -” Noctis paused as the walls and floor started to sway around him like before, and he tried to grab the door frame to keep himself on his feet.

“Whoa there- think we oughta get you back in bed,” Gladio said, and Noctis was suddenly aware Gladio was the one holding him steady and not the wall.

“Oh… right.”

Some shaky steps later, Noctis was back on the mattress and sat hunched forward, staring at the sheets. The lightheadedness was fading, but he was presented with another obstacle.

Gladio watched him with folded arms. “You need something?”

"How do I do this?"

“What, lay down?” Gladio laughed, and Noctis nodded.

“We had you on your side earlier, maybe you can try that?” Prompto suggested, hovering near the end of the bed.

His wing hit the mattress before his shoulder could, and Noctis jolted back up.

“Oh for- hang on.” Gladio reached out to support the wings, and Noctis reflexively tensed again. People touching them hadn’t become any less strange in the short time since he’d been awake, but he was able to lower himself more successfully this time. Gladio lay the wings behind him, adjusting them and coaxing them to fold so they weren’t hanging off the mattress.

“Thanks,” Noctis said, and scrunched his face in mock protest when Gladio leaned over to ruffle his hair.

“No problem. Don’t nod off just yet, though.” He moved away from the bedside to settle into one of the chairs still within Noctis’s view. “Ignis mentioned we should get in touch with Cor once you woke up," he explained, taking out his phone.

"You're going to tell him?" Noctis frowned, immediately sitting up again. Prompto sighed.

"It’s your call, birdbrain. He's seen way more of the world than any of us have. If anyone knows what's going on with you, it's him. Plus, Monica could get more intel if we need it." Gladio shifted his weight in the chair and eyed Noctis expectantly.

"Go ahead, I guess. It's just kind of embarrassing…" Noctis said, his wings fluttering weakly behind him. It was more than that, but this was easier than trying to explain the complex and deeply unsettling feelings he had shoved aside in favor of ignoring them.

“More embarrassing than getting turned into a frog twice in a row?”

“That happened one time-”

“Yeah, and I’m never gonna let you forget it. We were afraid we’d have to start calling you the frog prince,” Gladio grinned, already thumbing through contacts before holding the phone to his ear. “You got a minute?”

The marshal’s voice crackled through on the other end; Noctis could barely make it out from where he sat.

“We’ve got a bit of a situation with his highness- he’s alive, I’m looking at him right now. He got caught on the wrong end of some kind of daemon spell or something.” Gladio’s expression suddenly changed into something bemused, and he smirked at Noctis.

“What?” Noctis hissed quietly, but Gladio was just nodding along to the phone.

“Not this time, something new.” He paused. “Ever see one that makes you sprout wings?”

Noctis grimaced and tried to sink into the bed, though said wings prevented him from getting very far.

“Yeah, feathers and everything. Was real messy, too.” Another pause, another pointed look at Noctis. “They’re all white. Maybe seven feet across, give or take.”

The conversation continued, but Noctis tuned it out in favor of turning back to his side and laying down again with moderate success. His eyelids began to droop as soon as he hit the pillow, and he had half a mind to doze off before Gladio hung up. The feathers that pressed against the mattress itched, but he was too exhausted to do anything about it.

“Sounds good.” Gladio pocketed his phone and leaned forward, resting his chin on his hands. “So, Cor’s got no idea. Says to keep him updated though, and he’ll see if he can find anything through what’s left of the Crownsguard network in the meantime.”

“Great,” Noctis said, not bothering to lift his head. He closed his eyes again.

“Hey, he might still find something. Plus, Iggy should be back soon.”

“ _And_ Gladio and I convinced him to get takeout,” Prompto added, sounding pleased with himself. “I think you’ve earned a burger and fries.”

“Yeah, pretty sure,” Noctis mumbled, before succumbing to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a week in-between updates was too hopeful I'm a slow writer KLWHLGHWH I hope the wait wasn't too bad!! Hoping to be within two weeks for the next one but animal crossing is coming out so , ,, WE'LL SEE!!
> 
> thank you Beau for doin' a quick beta of this one for me :,3cc


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